The Irish broadcaster RTÉ has announced some major changes in the way the final artists will be selected to form part of the final heat. The most important change is that there will be an increase from twelve to thirteen finalists.
Out of the 63 non-winners of the series so far, each and every one of the four jury members will select three of the singers as being their favourites. During the first two shows of phase two of You're a Star, organised 5th and 12th January, these twelve reserves will compete by perfoming songs on stage in the aim of gaining one of the four extra final spots.
Six reserves will perform during each of the two special editions of the programme. During the first show, the six favourites of the jury members Phil Coulter and Darren Smith will each perform a song, out of whom the televiewers as usual will select the two finalists, one from each of the jury members' favourites. The same will happen during the second show, but then the wild cards of Kerry Katona and Louise Walsh will compete.
The favourites of Phil Coulter are already known. These will be; Chris Doran, Colin Melsop and Catriona McGinty.
